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Taking classical music to Brazil's favelas

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Story highlights

A program in Brazil is offering free classical music training to children in the slums

It's empowering the children and giving them a chance at a brighter future

There are 11 million Brazilians living in slums; more than 1 billion worldwide are in slums

Top 10 CNN Hero Thulani Madondo is educating hundreds of slum kids in South Africa

The violin she uses is cheap by most standards: made in China, it costs about $150.

But that's an absolute fortune for Yanca Leite. On the day we visited her, the 15-year-old aspiring musician couldn't even afford breakfast.

Yanca shares a one-bedroom shack with eight relatives in a sprawling shantytown on the outskirts of Sao Paulo called Paraisopolis, or Paradise City.

The narrow path leading to their door is lined with the bottles and cans they collect to supplement their income.

"The guy who recycles these bottles didn't pick them up and pay us," Yanca said. "So we didn't have money to buy bread."

Yanca rarely sees her father, who is in and out of jail, or her mother, a live-in maid who she says is working hard so her kids can get out of the slums.

But Yanca thinks she has finally discovered her own way out: music.

Less than a year ago, she joined a new classical music project at the Paraisopolis cultural center. Each student is given a violin and offered free -- yet very intensive -- classes once a week.

"Music has changed my life," she said. "I study eight hours a day all of the instruments I have at home: violin, guitar and keyboard."

Yanca Leite, 15, has a modest dream to become a music teacher for other slum children like herself.

The program was dreamed up by Joao Carlos Martins, an acclaimed classical pianist whose career was cut short by injury.

He reinvented himself as a successful composer, and seven years ago he went to one of Brazil's notorious favelas, or slums, in search of raw talent.

"I discovered so many naturally talented children that I decided to build a project," he said. "In 10 years, I intend to build 1,000 string orchestras in underprivileged areas across our country."

According to the latest census, more than 11 million Brazilians are living in favelas, many of them without access to running water or sewage systems.

And there are more than a billion people living in slums worldwide, according to Amnesty International. Across all continents, there are hundreds of millions of children who lack access to electricity, clean water and education despite living in cities with modern facilities and technology.

"One in three urban dwellers lives in slum conditions; in Africa, the proportion is a staggering six in 10," said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake in a report this year called "The State of the World's Children" (PDF). "The impact on children living in such conditions is significant.

"From Ghana and Kenya to Bangladesh and India, children living in slums are among the least likely to attend school. And disparities in nutrition separating rich and poor children within the cities and towns of sub-Saharan Africa are often greater than those between urban and rural children."

Thulani Madondo is all too familiar with that. Madondo, one of this year's top 10 CNN Heroes, grew up in a South African slum where he and his siblings felt like they had no control over their future. His older siblings dropped out of school because of financial pressure, and he had to wash cars and work as a stock boy just so he could stay in school.

Photos:The top 10 Heroes: In their own words

Photos:The top 10 Heroes: In their own words

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 – Pushpa Basnet was shocked to learn that children in Nepal were living in prisons with their parents. In 2005, she started a children's center that has provided housing, education and medical care to more than 140 children of incarcerated parents. "I always had a dream to build our own home for these children, and I want to rescue more children who are still in prisons," Basnet said. See more photos of Pushpa Basnet, who was voted CNN Hero of the Year for 2012.

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Photos:The top 10 Heroes: In their own words

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 – Wanda Butts lost her son in a drowning accident six years ago. In his memory, she started the Josh Project, a nonprofit that taught nearly 1,200 children -- most of them minorities -- how to swim. "I started the Josh Project to keep other mothers from having to suffer such unforgettable loss," she said. See more photos of Wanda Butts

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Photos:The top 10 Heroes: In their own words

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 – Mary Cortani is a former Army dog trainer who started Operation Freedom Paws, a nonprofit that helps war veterans train their own service dogs. Since 2010, she has worked with more than 80 veterans who have invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder. "I'm hoping this brings awareness to the world that PTSD is real and that we will be able to reach more veterans who so desperately need help," Cortani said. See more photos of Mary Cortani

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Photos:The top 10 Heroes: In their own words

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 – Catalina Escobar is helping young moms in Colombia, where one in five girls age 15-19 is or has been pregnant. Since 2002, her foundation has provided counseling, education and job training to more than 2,000 teenage mothers. "Teenage pregnancy is a world poverty problem, and we have developed models of intervention that break the cycle," Escobar said. "I want to share it with people around the world." See more photos of Catalina Escobar

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Photos:The top 10 Heroes: In their own words

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 – Razia Jan is fighting to educate girls in rural Afghanistan, where terrorists will stop at nothing to keep them from learning. She and her team at the Zabuli Education Center are providing a free education to about 350 girls, many of whom wouldn't normally have access to school. "This honor is a God-given gift that will make it possible for me to continue to give a ray of hope to these girls," Jan said. "My goal is to break the cycle of violence." See more photos of Razia Jan

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Photos:The top 10 Heroes: In their own words

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 – Thulani Madondo struggled as a child growing up in the slums of Kliptown, South Africa. Today, his Kliptown Youth Program provides school uniforms, tutoring, meals and activities to 400 children in the community. "We're trying to give them the sense that everything is possible," he said. See more photos of Thulani Madondo

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The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 – In memory of his daughter who was killed by a drunken driver in 2007, Leo McCarthy started Mariah's Challenge. The nonprofit gives college scholarships to teenagers who pledge not to drink while they're underage. Nearly $150,000 in scholarship money has been awarded. "We can change an apathetic culture of teenage drinking and driving," McCarthy said. "Hopefully one day soon we will not need Mariah's Challenge." See more photos of Leo McCarthy

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Photos:The top 10 Heroes: In their own words

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 – Connie Siskowski is helping young people who have to take care of an ill, disabled or aging family member. Since 2006, her nonprofit has provided assistance to more than 550 young caregivers in Palm Beach County, Florida. "I can only believe that when more people understand about this precious population, they, too, will want to recognize and support them," Siskowski said. "These children suffer silently behind closed doors." See more photos of Connie Siskowski

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Photos:The top 10 Heroes: In their own words

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 – After beating his addiction to drugs and alcohol, Scott Strode found support through sports. Since 2007, his nonprofit, Phoenix Multisport, has provided free athletic activities and a sober support community to more than 6,000 participants in Colorado. "This is an opportunity to shine a light on individual stories of recovery and sobriety in a way that will help remove the shame and stigma that surrounds dependency and addiction," he said. See more photos of Scott Strode

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The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012 – Malya Villard-Appolon is a rape survivor dedicated to supporting victims of sexual violence in Haiti. In 2004, she co-founded KOFAVIV, an organization that has helped more than 4,000 rape survivors find safety, psychological support and/or legal aid. "This encourages me to continue to fight on behalf of women and girls who are victims," she said. "I hope it brings about a change for my country." See more photos of Malya Villard-Appolon

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Top 10 CNN Hero: Thulani Madondo

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Top 10 CNN Hero: Thulani Madondo 01:45

Madondo eventually became the first person in his family to graduate from high school. Now he's giving back to the youth in Kliptown, the slum where he was raised. He helped start the Kliptown Youth Program, which provides academic support, meals and after-school activities to 400 disadvantaged children.

"We didn't want to see other young people going through what we'd gone through: no uniforms ... feeling hungry in class," Madondo said. "We know the problems of this community, but we also know the solutions."

By giving children education and encouragement, the idea is that the children will feel empowered and go on to become successful, productive members of society -- instead of becoming disillusioned and falling into gangs or a life of crime.

"We want them to realize there's something they can contribute to this world. ... We're trying to give them the sense that everything is possible," Madondo said.

In Brazil, Martins says his music classes help fight crime, not only by getting youth off the streets, but by giving them the tools that could lead to jobs -- and salaries -- their parents never dreamed of.

"For some, (music) gives them a hobby," he said. "For others, it gives them a profession, like a wedding performer. And finally, there are the diamonds" who go on to be professional musicians.

But Martins says he has had to overcome sometimes unexpected difficulties.

"When one child took his violin to his house, his father sold his violin," he said.

Nonetheless, many of the first students Martins took under his wing are already working as musicians and music teachers.

And the Paraisopolis students who gather every Thursday are enthusiastic about their future. Yanca has a modest dream to become a music teacher for other slum children like herself.

"I play with all my heart," she says, breaking down in tears. "If it weren't for music, I'd be a drug addict or a prostitute or out robbing. Because that's the reality here."